The MLS Cup-champion Columbus Crew will host either the Puerto Rico Islanders or fellow MLS club Toronto FC to open the 2009-10 CONCACAF Champions League Group Stage on August 18, with five more matches to follow between then and Oct. 20.
The Crew's three home matches in Group C of the regional confederation's prestigious championship tournament -- Aug. 18, Sept. 23 vs. Cruz Azul (Mexico) or Herediano (Costa Rica) and Sept. 29 vs. Saprissa (Costa Rica) -- have been designated Special Games A, B and C, respectively, in Crew Soccer National Gold Memberships (full season ticket packages). Complete schedule follows. Ticket information and pricing will be announced at a later date
Toronto will host Puerto Rico in the first leg of their Champions League Preliminary Round at BMO Field in Toronto on Wednesday (July 29) and then travel to Puerto Rico for the series' second leg at Estadio Juan Ramón Loubriel in Bayamón, Puerto Rico on Tuesday, August 4. Meanwhile, in the second undecided Preliminary Round match-up of Group C, Herediano will host Cruz Azul at a stadium to be determined in Costa Rica on Thursday (July 30), with the return leg to be played on Wednesday, August 5, at Estadio Azul in Mexico City.
The CONCACAF Champions League got underway tonight with the first legs of the Preliminary Round. D.C. United and Firpo played to a 1-1 draw, and Pachuca is at home against Jalapa of Guatemala. The eight Preliminary Round winners advance to the Group Stage with two teams from each group advancing to next year's quarterfinals.
The current 24-team Champions League set-up initially involves a two-legged Preliminary Round for 16 of the clubs, with the eight winners advancing to the Group Stage. The other eight teams (two from the United States, including the Crew, two from Mexico, and one each from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras) were seeded directly into the Group Stage.
The winners of the Preliminary Round and the seeded clubs play in the Group Stage in four groups of four, with each team playing the others in its group twice, once at home and once away, for a total of six games. The top two teams from each group qualify for the Championship Round, which consists of home-and-away elimination. The Final Round, to be held in April 2010, will also be two-legged, home-and-away. The eventual champion qualifies for the prestigious seven-team FIFA Club World Cup - which annually pits each continental confederation's champion against the others - in December 2010.
2009-10 CCL GROUP STAGE SCHEDULE
(Home Team listed first; All times U.S. Eastern)
Round 1
Tuesday, Aug. 18
Columbus Crew (USA) vs. Puerto Rico Islanders (PUR) or Toronto FC (CAN), 8 p.m. (CSN Special Game A)
Pumas UNAM (MEX) vs. Comunicaciones (GUA), 10 p.m.
Marathon (HON) vs. D.C. United (USA) or Firpo (SLV), 10 p.m.
Wednesday, Aug. 19
Houston Dynamo (USA) vs. Metapan (SLV), 8 p.m.
Olimpia (HON) or Arabe Unido (PAN) vs. Pachuca (MEX) or Jalapa (GUA), 8 p.m.
Cruz Azul (MEX) or Herediano (CRC) vs. Saprissa (CRC), 10 p.m.
Thursday, Aug. 20
San Juan Jabloteh (TRI) or San Francisco FC (PAN) vs. Toluca (MEX), 8 p.m.
Liberia (CRC) or Real Espana (HON) vs. New York Red Bulls (USA) or W Connection (TRI), 10 p.m.
Round 2
Tuesday, Aug. 25
Pachuca (MEX) or Jalapa (GUA) vs. Metapan (SLV), 8 p.m.
Saprissa (CRC) vs. Puerto Rico Islanders (PUR) or Toronto FC (CAN), 10 p.m.
Wednesday, Aug. 26
D.C. United (USA) or Firpo (SLV) vs. Toluca (MEX), 8 p.m.
Olimpia (HON) or Arabe Unido (PAN) vs.Houston Dynamo (USA), 10 p.m.
Cruz Azul (MEX) or Herediano (CRC) vs. Columbus Crew (USA), 10 p.m.
Thursday, Aug. 27
New York Red Bulls (USA) or W Connection (TRI) vs. Comunicaciones (GUA), 8 p.m.
Liberia (CRC) or Real Espana (HON) vs. Pumas UNAM (MEX), 10 p.m.
Marathon (HON) vs. San Juan Jabloteh (TRI) or San Francisco FC (PAN), 10 p.m.
Round 3
Tuesday, Sept. 15
Puerto Rico Islanders (PUR) or Toronto FC (CAN) vs. Cruz Azul (MEX) or Herediano (CRC), 8 p.m.
San Juan Jabloteh (TRI) or San Francisco FC (PAN) vs. D.C. United (USA) or Firpo (SLV), 8 p.m.
Metapan (SLV) vs. Olimpia (HON) or Arabe Unido (PAN), 10 p.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 16
New York Red Bulls (USA) or W Connection (TRI) vs. Pumas UNAM (MEX), 8 p.m.
Pachuca (MEX) or Jalapa (GUA) vs. Houston Dynamo (USA), 10 p.m.
Saprissa (CRC) vs. Columbus Crew (USA), 10 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 17
Toluca (MEX) vs. Marathon (HON), 8 p.m.
Comunicaciones (GUA) vs. Liberia (CRC) or Real Espana (HON), 10 p.m.
Round 4
Tuesday, Sept. 22
Puerto Rico Islanders (PUR) or Toronto FC (CAN) vs. Saprissa (CRC), 8 p.m.
Houston Dynamo (USA) vs. Olimpia (HON) or Arabe Unido (PAN), 10 p.m.
Metapan (SLV) vs. Pachuca (MEX) or Jalapa (GUA), 10 p.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 23
Columbus Crew (USA) vs. Cruz Azul (MEX) or Herediano (CRC), 8 p.m. (CSN Special Game B)
Comunicaciones (GUA) vs. New York Red Bulls (USA) or W Connection (TRI), 10 p.m.
Toluca (MEX) vs. San Juan Jabloteh (TRI) or San Francisco FC (PAN), 10 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 24
D.C. United (USA) or Firpo (SLV) vs. Marathon (HON), 8 p.m.
Pumas UNAM (MEX) vs. Liberia (CRC) or Real Espana (HON), 10 p.m.
Round 5
Tuesday, Sept. 29
Columbus Crew (USA) vs. Saprissa (CRC), 8 p.m. (CSN Special Game C)
Olimpia (HON) or Arabe Unido (PAN) vs. Metapan (SLV), 10 p.m.
Cruz Azul (MEX) or Herediano (CRC) vs. Puerto Rico Islanders (PUR) or Toronto FC (CAN), 10 p.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 30
Pumas UNAM (MEX) vs. New York Red Bulls (USA) or W Connection (TRI), 8 p.m.
D.C. United (USA) or Firpo (SLV) vs. San Juan Jabloteh (TRI) or San Francisco FC (PAN), 8 p.m.
Houston Dynamo (USA) vs. Pachuca (MEX) or Jalapa (GUA), 10 p.m.
Liberia (CRC) or Real Espana (HON) vs. Comunicaciones (GUA), 10 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 1
Marathon (HON) vs. Toluca (MEX), 10 p.m.
Round 6
Tuesday, Oct. 20
Puerto Rico Islanders (PUR) or Toronto FC (CAN) vs. Columbus Crew (USA), 8 p.m.
Toluca (MEX) vs. D.C. United (USA) or Firpo (SLV), 8 p.m.
Saprissa (CRC) vs. Cruz Azul (MEX) or Herediano (CRC), 10 p.m.
Wednesday, Oct. 21
New York Red Bulls (USA) or W Connection (TRI) vs. Liberia (CRC) or Real Espana (HON), 8 p.m.
Pachuca (MEX) or Jalapa (GUA) vs. Olimpia (HON) or Arabe Unido (PAN), 8 p.m.
Metapan (SLV) vs. Houston Dynamo (USA), 10 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 22
San Juan Jabloteh (TRI) or San Francisco FC (PAN) vs. Marathon (HON), 8 p.m.
Comunicaciones (GUA) vs. Pumas UNAM (MEX), 10 p.m.
About CONCACAF
CONCACAF "The Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football" is one of six continental confederations of FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) and serves as the governing body of football in this part of the world. It is composed of 40 national associations, from Canada in the north to Guyana, Surinam and French Guyana in the south.
About the Crew
Founded by American sports pioneer Lamar Hunt, the Columbus Crew is Ohio's Major League Soccer club, anchoring a diverse sports and entertainment enterprise. One of the league's Charter Members, it is the reigning MLS Cup Champion and has also won the 2002 U.S. Open Cup championship and MLS Supporters' Shield titles in 2004 and 2008. It is currently in its 14th season overall and 11th season in first-of-its-kind Columbus Crew Stadium.
